President Bola Tinubu has asked the House of Representatives to approve external loans totalling $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion to finance projects across critical sectors of the economy.
The request came as the House approved a N100.51 billion promissory note to reimburse the Yobe State Government for constructing the Muhammadu Buhari International Cargo Airport in Damaturu.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has defended its proposed $21.7 billion external borrowing plan, describing it as a long-term investment in infrastructure, human capital and economic growth, rather than an additional debt burden.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy , Taiwo Oyedele , said the five-year project financing plan was designed to create productive assets whose long-term economic value would outweigh the cost of borrowing.
Tinubu’s borrowing request was conveyed in a letter read by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, at plenary yesterday.
The proposed facilities, valued at $20,517,755,901 and €1,045,083,643, form part of the Federal Government’s 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Rolling Plan.
In the letter, the President urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the request to enable the government implement the planned projects and programmes.
Oyedele said the proposed loans would support infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security and employment generation, among other sectors.
According to him, the projects were selected after technical and economic evaluations, with their expected contributions to national development taken into account.
“The interventions are designed to create jobs, promote skills acquisition and entrepreneurship, reduce poverty and strengthen food security,” Tinubu said.
Meanwhile, the House approved a promissory note programme of N100,509,017,234.55 to reimburse Yobe for the construction of the Muhammadu Buhari International Cargo Airport in Damaturu.
The approval followed the adoption of the recommendation of the House Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management after reviewing the Federal Government’s request to settle the liability arising from its decision to take over the facility.
The committee chairman, Abubakar Nalaraba (APC, Nasarawa), disclosed the decision while briefing journalists at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
Officials of the Federal Ministries of Aviation and Finance, alongside other relevant agencies, provided technical assessments and supporting documents during the review.
The committee’s report stated that the Ministry of Aviation had inspected the completed airport and confirmed that the quality of work met the required standards for takeover by the Federal Government. It also established that the Yobe government had paid the contractors that executed the project, while the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) certified that due process was followed.
President Tinubu had sought the National Assembly’s approval for the reimbursement in a letter read on the floor of the House on October 13, 2026.
Nalaraba stressed that the proposed payment was not fresh funding for construction but a refund for expenditure already incurred by the state government.
PRESENTING the highlights of the FEC meeting, Oyedele said the borrowing plan covered critical investments in transportation, defence and security, health, agriculture, energy, digital infrastructure, small businesses, social protection, environmental protection and education.
He disclosed that about $10.6 billion had been earmarked for transportation infrastructure, including major highway projects such as the Sokoto-Badagry and Lagos-Calabar coastal highways , as well as the Kano-Kaduna Metro Rail project.
The minister, however, clarified that the proposal was a financing plan submitted to the National Assembly and did not mean the entire amount had already been borrowed or would necessarily be drawn down in full.
According to him, the Federal Government was acting as the coordinating authority for external financing covering federal, state and other public-sector projects.
He said approximately $4.8 billion of the proposed financing was allocated to projects involving state governments, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and other subnational entities, agencies and development finance institutions.
Oyedele said about $7.9 billion would come from multilateral and bilateral development partners, including $5 billion from the World Bank at concessional rates averaging 2.1 per cent.
He added that the indicative average interest rate on the commercial component was 7.8 per cent, which he said was below the rate on Nigeria’s November 2025 Eurobond.
The minister argued that borrowing could strengthen the country’s balance sheet if the resulting investments generated assets and economic benefits exceeding their financing costs.
On the state of the economy, Oyedele said Nigeria’s economic indicators had improved since Tinubu introduced major reforms in May 2023, although he acknowledged that significant challenges remained.